Looking for a fun and engaging way to practice rhythm in your music classroom? In this quick tutorial, I’ll show you how you can use Wheel of Names & The Rhythm Randomizer to make a random rhythm selector that you can use with your music students.
Below is an AI-assisted summary of the key points and ideas covered in the video. For more detail, make sure to check out the full time-stamped video above!
Getting Started with Wheel of Names
When you first visit Wheel of Names, you’ll see a set of names in the box on the right. To create your rhythm wheel, you’ll want to delete those names and add rhythm images instead.
Adding Images to Your Wheel
- Click on “Add Image”
- Select “Add Image as Entry”
- Locate your rhythm images (more on that below!)
- You can select a single image or multiple images at once
- Pro tip: Hold the Shift key to select multiple images quickly
Customizing Wheel of Names
Sound and Spin Settings
- Choose a spinning sound (the default ticking sound works well)
- Adjust the spin time
- The default is 10 seconds, but I recommend 5 seconds for classroom activities
Appearance Customization
- Go to the “Customize” menu
- Explore sound options
- Preview sounds before selecting
- Note: Some music sounds might be distracting for students
- Modify spin time
- Choose an after-spin sound effect
- Options include subtle sounds like “twinkling star” or “correct answer ding”
- Customize the message that appears when a rhythm is selected
- Optional: Turn off confetti
- Option to remove rhythms after they’re drawn
Creating Rhythm Images
Use Rhythm Randomizer to generate your rhythms:
- Open the website
- Adjust settings:
- Select rhythm length
- Choose a time signature
- Pick note values
- Click to generate rhythms
- Take screenshots of rhythms you like
- Save as PNG files
Saving Your Wheel
- Click “Save”
- Choose your sign-in method
- Give the wheel a name
- The next time you log in, you can retrieve your saved wheel
Bonus Resource
Download the Ultimate Free Music Tech Resources Guide – featuring over 330 free tech tools for music teachers!
Conclusion
This quick tech hack combining Wheel of Names and Rhythm Randomizer is an easy way to turn mundane rhythm exercises into exciting, interactive learning experiences students will actually look forward to!
Disclaimer: Please note that I sometimes use affiliate links when reviewing products or services I use and personally recommend, which will earn me a very small commission (at no extra cost to you!). Any commissions earned go back into supporting the upkeep of this site. Thank you for supporting Midnight Music!
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Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my business Midnight Music. Yes – I’m a qualified teacher but I don’t currently teach in a school. I help teachers through the Midnight Music Membership Community– a go-to online hub for tech-focussed professional development.
The Midnight Music Membership Community features:
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It’s designed for teachers of all skill levels – from self-proclaimed ‘technophobes’ to intermediate and advanced tech users. You’ll learn how to integrate technology into your music teaching without the stress, so you can boost classroom outcomes, engage your students on a deeper level, and inspire a lifelong love of music!
If you want simple, effective ideas for using technology in music education, I would LOVE to help you inside the Midnight Music Community.
